My winter camping trip was very successful with wonderfully warm sunny days and somewhat chilly nights. The coldest overnight recording under my extended awning was -5 with some of the best frosts I have seen in a long time. It takes me back to when I was a child, to a time when we always had a real winter.

Sommerville Valley is a lovely big campground with good amenities blocks (2), camp kitchen (4 kitchenettes) complete with TV room and pool table. There is mention in their brochure of Movie Nights on the Big Screen but this is not available.

The campground also has a number of free gas BBQs and 2 free laundries (no dryers). There is also a kiosk with very, very limited supplies and an internet facility.

The amenities blocks each have 3 toilets (2x1 in the gents) and 3 showers in each.

Unfortunately the BBQs are not cleaned by management and each one that I looked at was in a pretty disgusting state. I did ask Raymond (owner) about this and as a favour to me he cleaned the 2 down near my camp.

Raymond and his wife Hana flew off to Vanuatu for 5 days and Hugo (cousin) was left in charge. Hugo was very obliging and most helpful and only too willing to see to any problem that arose.

My only really negative comment is that I believe their prices as from September 2008 are a little expensive for singles or couples as the fees are aimed more at younger families.

The current price is $22 per night for 2 adults and 2 children under 14 ($132 per week) for a powered site. Tent site (unpowered) $19 p/n and $114 per week.

Fees as from September 08 will increase to $24 p/n for 2 adults and 2 children under 13 ($144 per week) for powered sites. Unpowered sites $21 p/n and $126 per week.

There is no singular per person fee available unless it is an extra person ($5) so the minimum will always be $24 per night or $144 per week for power.

The campground is set on Storm King Dam, currently at capacity with water over the dam wall and markers put into place to show where it is. Even with the dam so close there are no water based activities provided for or supported by the campground. You cannot buy bait or a fishing permit from the campground kiosk.

As far as boating goes, it is a case of bring your own and at the present time slipping a boat means a drive to the boat ramp some 10 klms away.

There is also no playground for children but they are putting in a volley ball court which of course will only cater to the older children and young adults. Kids on push bikes are not allowed.

According to the info supplied by the campground, bikes can only be used by adults. Children are not to ride bikes around the park. Skateboards and rollerblades are strictly forbidden

In the 9 days I was there I saw limited wild life. Some hares in the late evenings and magpies, galahs and butcher birds, also quite a number of wood ducks on the dam but that was the extent of it. Considering it is a bush/country setting I did expect to see a greater variety of wildlife.

Camping there in the cooler months would be more agreeable as shade is almost non existent and it gets very hot in the summer months.

There are a limited number of on site vans ($50 p/n) and some on site tents with power (Big: currently $32 to increase to $36 p/n; Small: currently $26 to increase to $29 p/n).

Most of the van sites are set up so that you can face the dam and they are quite spaciously set apart. My set up is too large to fit on a site but I was given permission to set up wherever I wanted. I especially wanted to face the NE so as to capture as much of the winter sun as possible. It also meant that any wind coming across the dam came at the rear side of the camper.

I really loved the place, it was so very peaceful but personally believe the fees are a little expensive (for me) when I look around at other campgrounds that offer the same or more and are geographically closer to me.

Campfires are allowed (in allocated fire pits) and either take you own firewood or purchase from them at $4 for 9 pieces of wood. It is also a â€˜pet friendlyâ€™ campground with no fees for taking the canine family however you do need approval from management.

Note: I have in excess of 400 pics and will download some when I get a chance to vet them.

Conclusion:It would seem that whilst the campground fees are targeted at young families, it appears (after reading this) it is not as â€˜kids friendlyâ€™ as first thought.

May have been too cold for the wild life to come out Gypsy ?? Still it sounds quite ok,as we know i don`t have human kids so it makes no difference to me if they can`t ride a bike,a shame though as families like to keep the young ones oocupied with having something to do. Maybe because the laundry etc is free they see that a fair price,but for weekend campers they most likely won`t use it anyway.

My wife and I camped for a few days here in Sept 2011, we took a powered site as close to the water as possible as I wanted to do alot of kayak fishing, sadly the weather lets us down - rain and showers all weekend, what did I like about the park was that I could book online via email, easy access to the dam if camped in the right area, nice shower toilet block, well stock kiosk/office.There office hours were short, a few hours in the morning and again in the afternoon, maybe just a queit time of the year ???Another thing that we didn't like was the amount of backpackers/workers/pickers staying at the park, I think 75% of the sites or more were "workers" leaving early a couple of mornings and getting back late, the lounge area/TV room was filthy with dirty plates and the fridges hadn't been cleaned in weeks, a backpacker had made himself at home on a lounge with his feet up on one end and was sleeping while acouple of his mates took up the other chairs and lounge, plus the 3 guy's playing cards at a table near the pool table laughing and talking across the room to the others in there native tongue had us heading back to our camper quick smart.

I'm sure....or I hope it is not like that all the time and most of the time it is more tourists camping

Cheers

Last edited by Lockyer on Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Another thing that we didn't like was the amount of backpackers/workers/pickers staying at the park, I think 75% of the sites or more were "workers" leaving early a couple of mornings and getting back late, the lounge area/TV room was filthy with dirty plates and the fridges hadn't been cleaned in weeks, a backpacker had made himself at room on a lounge with his feet up on one end and was sleeping while acouple of his mates took up the other chairs and lounge, plus the 3 guy's playing cards at a table near the pool table laughing and talking across the room to the others in there native tongue had us heading back to our camper quick smart.

Cheers

Nothing like that when I was there and I wonder if it may have changed hands as I can see the owners at the time allowing that sort of behaviour.

These issues seem to be commonplace with backpackers and itinerant workers....and it's a shame that it has to be like that. They appear to have little respect for others.

These issues seem to be commonplace with backpackers and itinerant workers....and it's a shame that it has to be like that. They appear to have little respect for others.

Thanks for the update Lawrence.

HI GL

We stayed at a CP at Oakey just before Xmas and as there is a mining boom going on out there so some of the van spaces had been removed and donger's put in there place for the workers, we did see a few workers coming and going but the CP itself was spotless the camp kitchen was cleaned twice a day and the showers had sign's about no work boots etc etc, would have no issue staying at that CP again. I think the difference is the people who live in Australia respect the CP and people who are just tripping around the world cheap couldn't care less.

We stayed at a CP at Oakey just before Xmas and as there is a mining boom going on out there so some of the van spaces had been removed and donger's put in there place for the workers, we did see a few workers coming and going but the CP itself was spotless the camp kitchen was cleaned twice a day and the showers had sign's about no work boots etc etc, would have no issue staying at that CP again. I think the difference is the people who live in Australia respect the CP and people who are just tripping around the world cheap couldn't care less.